The Third Voice of Global South Summit was hosted by India on 17 August, 2024. Like the previous two summits hosted by India in its capacity as the G20 President in January and November 2023, the third edition too was held virtually.
The context of the latest summit was more to develop ideational convergence among the members of the Global South on the approach they would take with regard to developmental priorities and sustainable development goals. This is critical, as coherence and cooperation will be required when they all head to New York in September for the Summit of the Future – and for various other UN-related and international conferences to come.[1]
India’s initiative was driven by the twin motivations to deepen solidarity within the camp, and to project its agenda. It also established the relevance of India’s development experience and achievements to the Global South, and New Delhi’s role as an important player and leader of the Global South. This is necessary, given the many contestants for the latter position, from China to Brazil to South Africa.
In other aspects, the Summit had hits and misses. In terms of participation, this third summit may be considered a success. In all, 123 countries took part, 21 of them at the head of state or head of government level. A total of 34 foreign ministers, and 118 other ministers were present – a sizeable chunk of the Global South family.
The summit comprised inaugural and closing sessions at the head of state or government level, ten ministerial sessions covering sectors as health, youth, trade and finance, and two sessions of the foreign ministers.
The specific theme was ‘An Empowered Global South for a Sustainable Future.’ The summit did not intend to produce an agreed document nor announce a set of deliverables. So, what was discussed and what kind of consensus was achieved? External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar presented a substantive summary of the discussions at the leaders’ and the foreign ministers’ sessions. In the 10 points he listed, the most important related to the myriad problems faced by the Global South countries today: food, health and energy security issues, pressure on existing resources and access to resources, realizing the demographic dividend through employment and economic equity. Other points focused on climate concerns, challenges of new technologies, and unanimity on the reform of the UN and the global architecture – subjects that the foreign ministers’ sessions also addressed. Other leaders spoke about sovereignty, strategic autonomy, interference and related concerns.
It will take some weeks before the observations of some of the key participants like WHO become public, as also how they propose to advance their causes. Meanwhile six observations about the summit:
One, at the closing session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed a comprehensive ‘Global Development Compact’ and India’s willingness to share its experience and expertise in development partnerships. This compact, he assured, will be shaped by the development priorities set by the countries of the Global South themselves.
Two, having a human-centric, multidimensional and multisectoral approach to development. To advance this, New Delhi announced a contribution of $25 million for accelerating the use of Digital Public Infrastructure within the Global South and $3.5 million for trade promotion and technology-sharing within Global South countries. However, experts will point to the need for more substantial financial resources to widen and expand the partnership so that it makes a serious dent in the problems faced by developing countries.
Three, China which considers itself a member and leader of the Global South, was not invited to this nor to the previous two India-hosted summits. Information is not yet available on whether there were other absentees from the membership of the expanded BRICS.
Four, Jaishankar denied that there was “a power play” involved in the summit. He stressed, “it was more like a solidarity of countries with similar thoughts and similar interests, rather than a competitive one.” Yet, the competition to lead the Global South remains active; the power play is not with those inside the tent but with those outside of it.
Five, there was a clear desire from several participants to have the summit continue in the future, given its utility and value in unifying the Global South and advancing its cause.
Six, the Global South Summit as a platform has survived India’s G20 presidency, indicating its likely continuation in the future.
In the end, the third summit may have added only marginally to the outcome of the previous two summits. The Indian government seems to believe that, given the essential perception that development challenges persist, purposeful endeavours to keep the Global South united and proactive in advancing its agenda must continue.
Post G20-New Delhi has the ability to pull off large international conferences, especially those like this Summit that was hosted through digital means at short notice. It reflects India’s increased capacity and its digital diplomacy. The next summit must reflect its substance, ability to follow-through, actively share and chronicle experiences and solutions, and have visible achievements to be a realistic alternative to existing power structures.
Rajiv Bhatia is Distinguished Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies, Gateway House and former High Commissioner to South Africa. He is the author of India–Africa Relations: Changing Horizons.
This article first appeared in the Deccan Herald.
References
[1] Charuta Ghadyalpatil, “What exactly is the Global South?” Gateway House, Aug 8, 2024, https://www.gatewayhouse.in/what-exactly-is-the-global-south/